Ceramic-based components can be used in a variety of products including structural/building materials, kitchen and tableware, automotive components, medical devices and electronic devices. These ceramic-based components may be used in such a variety of industries because of the desirable physical properties and characteristics. As one example, ceramic-based materials may include high strength properties (e.g., fracture toughness, ductility), include dielectric constant properties and may be substantially transparent, dependent on manufacture. Conventional ceramic-based components are typically made using two techniques: ceramic injection molding (CIM) and ceramic gel casting.
Conventional CIM processing typically involves the use of a mold and ceramic-based material that may be substantially liquid when heated. The ceramic-based material may be heated to a specific temperature to be completely liquefied, and then may be poured into the mold. The mold may then be mechanically pressed together using a high compression force, and rapidly cooled. The cooling of the mold, and liquid material within the mold, may cause the ceramic-based material to become substantially solid and take the shape of the mold.
The molds used in CIM can be very expensive, and very difficult to create. More specifically, at least partially due to the patterns that may be included in the mold and the required material composition that can withstand the rapid heating and cooling of CIM, the molds may be very expensive and may be difficult and time consuming to manufacture. Additionally, if a mold is defective, it typically cannot be corrected, and a new mold must be created. Furthermore, the rapid heating and cooling of the ceramic-based material used in the CIM process may ultimately have a negative effect on the physical properties of the ceramic component formed in the CIM process. For example, where the ceramic-based material is heated above a desired temperature during the CIM process, the final ceramic component formed using CIM may have a decreased ductility properties.
Ceramic gel casting is another conventional manufacturing process for creating ceramic components. In gel casting, a monomer is typically combined with a liquid mixture including a ceramic material, and the combination is disposed within a mold. Similar to CIM, once the liquid mixture and monomer are included in the mold, the mixture is heated to a predetermined temperature to polymerize the liquid and ultimately form a ceramic component. Also similar to CIM, the conventional gel casting process includes placing the mold under high pressure during the casting process and rapidly cooling the mixture to form the ceramic component.
Conventional gel casting may include additional complications. For example, conventional gel casting may cause air bubbles to be formed in the final ceramic component, which may substantially reduce the strength of the ceramic component and may cause undesirable cosmetic defects. Air bubbles may be present in the mixture prior to the pouring or otherwise placing the mixture into the mold, and/or air bubbles may be present within the mold during the casting process. Additionally, the ceramic material included in the mixture may not be evenly and/or completely combined with the monomer material during the gel casting process, which may result in a ceramic component having a varying density. That is, a portion of the ceramic component formed from the mixture having a high concentration of ceramic material may be substantially dense, where a portion of the ceramic component formed form the mixture having a low concentration of ceramic material may include minimal density.